Mexico covers an area of
1,972,500 sq. km. or 761,000 sq. miles,
The population of the area around Mexico City is about 20 million, the
largest concentration of people in the world. The latest estimate (in
2000) has the population of Mexico at 97.4 million with an annual growth
rate of 1.9%. Mexico has a chief executive (president); a bicameral
legislature; a judicial system with a Supreme Court, local and federal
courts; and an administrative subdivision of 31 states and one federal
district. Mexico has a rapidly developing economy and has sought economic
prosperity through liberalization of its trade regime.
The capital of Mexico is
Mexico City, also known in Spanish as
"distrito féderal'. Other important cities are : Monterrey, Acapulco,
Guadelajara, Cancun, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta.
Spanish is Mexico's predominant language,
but Mexican Spanish differs from
Castilian Spanish, the literary and official language of Spain, in two
respects: in Mexico, the Castilian lisp has more or less disappeared, and
numerous Indian words have been adopted. Around 50 Indian languages are
spoken by about 5 million people in Mexico; 15% of these Indians do not
speak Spanish.
Mexico has been graced with an
unusually temperate climate year-round.The climate ranges from
tropical to desert, and the terrain consists of coastal lowlands, central
high plateaus, and mountains up to 18,000 feet.The most important thing to
remember is that the Mexican summer is also the rainy season, although the
rain rarely lasts more than a few hours, and typically arrives in the late
afternoon. Extremes are present only in the North and in Baja, both of
which have deserts where the temperature leaps above 100F. Mexico City has
a year-round temperature in the high 80s, while the coasts usually stay in
the mid-90s. Night time temperatures fall somewhat, but rarely break down
below a comfortable 60F.
Crime in Mexico
continues at high levels, and it is increasingly violent,
especially in Mexico City, Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. Low apprehension and
conviction rates of criminals contribute to the high crime rate. Other
metropolitan areas have lower but still serious levels of crime. Travelers
should leave valuables and irreplaceable items in a safe place, or not
bring them. All visitors are encouraged to make use of hotel safes when
available, avoid wearing obviously expensive jewelry or designer clothing,
and carry only the cash or credit cards that will be needed on each
outing. Travelers are discouraged from bringing very large amounts of cash
into Mexico because officials may suspect money laundering or other
criminal activity.
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